In the PTE Academics, the test taker is assessed on communicative skills and enabling skills. Enabling skills is further divided into 6 categories that are scored individually.  These categories are grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary and written discourse. Enabling skills assesses the test taker’s writing and speaking abilities.

The test score for enabling skills is based on all test items. This means there is no “special” section or set of questions dedicated solely to enabling skills. Each category within the enabling skills is scored separately, therefore, it is beneficial to the test taker to score high and succeed in all categories. To achieve this, tips are discussed below.

• Grammar – Assesses the correct use of the English language with respect to word format and word at the sentence level.

• Oral fluency – The test taker is assessed on the ability to produce clear speech that is audible and flowing naturally.

• Pronunciation – Assesses the ability to deliver the speech in such a way that the words are audible and understandable.

• Spelling – Checks correct spelling of words as accepted in the English Language. The test taker must be cautious of different spelling used in different language choice e.g. American or United Kingdom spelling.

• Vocabulary – Appropriate choice of words to express meaning

• Written discourse – Checks correct delivery of written communication. The written context must flow effortlessly with a proper format and it must be understandable.

Tips To Score Better In PTE Academic Enabling Skills

Read a variety of written media.

This can be books, online blogs newspaper and so on. This helps to increase the vocabulary and learning the proper use of words and punctuation. The test taker can practice reading silently and reading aloud.  It might be taken lightly but some people don’t understand a written text unless they read in a particular way.  Making a habit of reading will improve the reading, oral fluency, vocabulary and pronunciation.

New word

When one is reading, there will always be a new word. It is wise to keep a notepad or notebook where you can write these new unfamiliar words and use the dictionary to learn their meaning. Try to use a dictionary that will also provide examples of how to use the words in a sentence. Also, keep a dictionary by your side at all times. It cannot be hard with technology and apps.  This will help improve your vocabulary and help you write like a professional.

Listen to audios, podcasts or watch video clips

This is not an excuse to watch movies and drama series while you forget about your PTE Academic preparations.  Audios, podcasts and videos can be integrated in preparing for the exam.  The user is advised to listen to a variety of spoken media with different accents. The user may mimic the speaker, learn to summarize spoken content and also learn to precisely writing the content of the speech. This will help improve, spelling, listening, oral fluency, pronunciation and writing.

Improve your writing

In the PTE Academic, the test taker is assessed on the ability to write in an academic manner, therefore, the test taker must familiarize himself/herself with the proper structure for writing discourse. This means written essay has to follow the right format such as introduction, body and conclusion. It must also display understanding and be delivered in an articulate manner. To improve writing, the test taker must remember to avoid writing in first person. That is; avoid using ‘I’ and ‘we’. Moreover, the test taker may search for essay topics on the internet and practice by actually writing the essay. To improve spelling, spelling checker may be turned off to increase alertness when writing. NB!! Avoid long sentences as these require a better understanding of the language

SMS and Social media “Lingo”

Improve your exam skills and increase your confidence with free PTE mock tests.

The goal is to score high in enabling skills so everything you do that requires the use of the English language must be professional. Avoid the use of SMS language whether you are sending a message to friends, family and colleagues or when sending a tweet.  Be professional at all times because this will go a long way when it comes to grammar punctuation and spellinRecord yourself when speaking

To increase oral fluency the test taker may practice by recording himself/herself.  Playing the audio will help you to identify pronunciation mistakes, how often you use fillers, the speed at which you deliver your speech and etc. According to thoughtco.com fillers are “meaningless, phrases or words that mark pause or hesitation in speech”. These are words such as so, uh, um, okay, right and so on. This is very important since people are not even comfortable to send voice notes to their loved ones because they think they sound weird. Practise as many times as you can noting your comfortability, fluency, pronunciation and whether you stammer or stutter in your speech.

Seek help

Learning a new skill can be tiring and sometimes it easy to get discouraged and give up. If you can’t do it on your own reach out to people who can help you. It can be a friend or a tutor. In the era of social media, there are online communities for almost everything. Search for a community that will help you towards achieving high scores in PTE Academics. Even if you don’t know anyone personally who is preparing for PTE you can pair yourself with an online buddy and become study maids.

Practice, Practice and more practice

This will depend on your English language knowledge. You can only get better at something if you are dedicated so practice as much as you can.